Car construction and arrangement of drop-doors and operating mechanism.



R. V. SAGE.

GAR CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT OP DROP DOORS AND OPERATING MECHANISM. APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 20, 1013 Patented Oct.7,1913.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 60.. WASHIEGTON. n. c.

UNITED STATES OFFICE.

RALPH v. sass, or WESTMONT BOROUGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

GA-R GGNST-RUCTION- AND ABRANGEMEZN '13 OF DROP DO0RS AND OPERATING IVIEGHkNISlVL Patented-oat; 7,1913.

Application filed June 20, 1913'. Serial 1%. 774,252.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, RALPH V. SAGE, a

citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of VVestmont, in the county of Cam briaand State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car Construction and Arrangement of Drop- Doors and Operating Mechanism; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to railway cars and more particularly to the manner of constructing that part ofthe framing and sides cooperating with the hinged drop doorsand their operating mechanism. -On e ofth e objects of my invention is to provide a simple, strong and economical construction especially adapted for that class" of freightcars known as drop bottom gondolas in which a plurality of drop doors are located between the cross bearers longitudinaily hinged to or near the center sills, and which form the car flooring to a great ex= tent when they are closed.

Another object ofmy invent-ion is to form' I the cross bearers with upwardly bent outer ends whichmay be attached directly to the side stakes or to'the car side on which ends is' secured; a longitudinally extending laterally inclined shedding plate, either as a separate piece, or a portion of the side sheet,

A- further object ofmy invention resides in-- mounting the door operating shaft in journal bearings secured to the downwardly extending lower ends; of the car stakes, so that; the door operating mechanism can be easily accessible for mounting, demounting and; inspection, but at the same time in a po's i tion where it will be protected by the body of the car. 7

Another; object of my inventionis the bracing of the ends of the cross bearers to' the car sides or stakes to form a more rigid construction at this point.

invention also consists in the novel constructions, arrangement andcombination" of part substantially as hereinafter described and pointed out in the appended claims; n V Ha i s iven-e1 g m d 'c p i f y invention, I will-- now, in order to make it more clear, refer to the accompanying. one sheet of drawlngs form ng part of this specification and in wl11ch-:

Figure 1 is a vertical transverse sectional elevation of a portion of a car takenon the line I-I of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows, showing the upwardly inclined end of a rolled channel cross bearer attached directly to the side stake of the car, and the door operating shaft bearing secured to the lower end of the side stake below the end of the side sheet of the car is bent inwardly to cor-respond to the upwardly in- :clined end portion ofthe cross bearer and attached to its upper flanged edge; the side stake of the car extending below the cross bearers a greater distance than" in Figs. 1

' and 2, and a flanged brace member riveted to the lower end of the stake and to the bottom flange of the cross bearer, with the journal formedintegral therewith, while the lower bearing for the door operating shaft mounted on the car stake between the ends of the cross bearer and; the brace. Fig. tis a cletail side elevatlon ofanother modificat on in which the cross bearer 1s an I -breain and the side stake a pressed metal shape of V form. x I

Referring now to the numerals of reference on the drawings :1 indicatesthe centersills of the car which may be-rolledchannels as shown, spaced apart by means of car; or, the center sills may be of any other 7 desired shape or conformation. A cover plate 4' is laid over and riveted. to the top flanges ofthe center sills 1 and to the top flanges of the box-shaped members 2 and 3 andserves as the central floor-strip of the 5 indicates the bolsters of the car, shown as open boxes of trapezoidal shape, but which may, be of. any other construction.

. 'llhe cross bearers are spaced at suitable dis-- tances apart between the bolsters and have their inner ends attached to the center sills 1 in any approved manner and extend outwardly therefrom to the sides of the car, their outer ends being bent upwardly as indicated at 7 and secured to the side stakes 8 of the car at an intermediate part'thereof.

The side plate girder of the car is constructed with a vertical web portion 9, an upper flange 22, as shown in Fig. 1, and a lower inclined portion 10, preferably formed integral with the web as shown, although these maybe made separately and riveted together, if desired.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the side stakes 8 are attached to the vertical web portion '9 of the girder side of the car and extend below the same, to which are riveted the bent-up ends 7 of the cross bearers 6 and on said stakes, below the ends of the cross bearers, are secured journal bearings 11 for the door operating shaft 12, which shaft operates'and supports the forward swinging end of the door 13. In cases where the shaft extends to the end of the car, it passes through an enlarged hole in the bolster as indicated by the outer circle around same in Fig. 1. The forward swinging end of the door closes against the horizontal inner edge 14: which extends from the inclined lower portion 10 of the girder side of the car. It will be noted that the inclined lower portion 10 of the girder side of the car forms a shedding plate by means of which granular or similar materials may be more readily discharged through the door openings in the bottom of the car, and as this shedding portion lO is riveted directly to the top flange of the bent end 7 of the cross bearer 6, the inclination maybe varied by bending the end of the cross bearer to a greater or less degree. This plate girder side construction obviates the necessity of heavy side sills at, or'below, the floor level of the car and allows easy access to the parts supported below the car body. V door operating shaft 12 extends longitudinally of the car and on each side thereof and is entirely supported by the journal bearings 11 attached to the lower ends of the car stakes. As illustrated, only one shaft is shown, but it will be understood that the other side of the car is constructed similarly with suitabledoor operating mech-' anism 15 mounted thereon or connected therewith to the car door. Any desired mechanism may be used, but I prefer to use that disclosed by me in my co-pending application for improvements in dump-cars, filed October 3rd, 1912, Serial Number 723,665, but as the details of the door latches, etc., form no part of mypresent invention, a

' description of same is not given herein.

In'Fig. 3 I have shown a modified form of a cross bearer 16 made of pressed metal with bent-up .outer end portion 17. This cross bearer has a vertical web with integral flanges around the outer edges thereof. In this construction the car stake 8 extends downwardly below the car side a greater distance than that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and 1 the side stake 8, in which space the journal bearings 11 are attached to the car stake and the door operating shaft 12 extends therethrough, as shown.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated another modification in which an I-bar 19 is usedfor the cross bearer, and a pressed .Inetal sidestake 20 is used instead of the angle bar 8.' j This I-bar 19 and side stake 20 may be'connected together by means of angle brackets 21, or in any'other approved manner.

While I have shown and described my invention in considerable detail, 'I do not i wish to-be limited tothe exact construction specifications or equivalents thereof as are embracedwithin the scope of my invention, 01'' as pointed out inthe claims. 7

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a railway carof the class-described, a plate girder side the lower portion of which is downwardly and inwardly inclined, a plurality of cross bearers extending transversely of the car, the outer'ends of which are upwardly inclined and secured to the inclined portion of the plate girder aforesaid, a plurality of stakes attached to the car side and extending belowthe ends of the cross bearers, and azplurality of' journal bearings mounted on the lower portions of said stakes below said inclines and adapted to revolubly support an operating shaft.

2. In a railway car of the class described,

"a plate girder side the lower portion of which is downwardly and inwardly inclined andprovided with a horizontal marginal edge, the inclined portion being adapted to form a shedding plate and the edge a closure for the end of the-swinging car-door, a plurality of cross bearers extending transversely of the underframing, the outer ends of which are upwardly inclined and secured to the inclined portion of the plate side,- a

plurality of stakes secured to the car side and extending below the ends ofthe cross bearers, a plurality of journal bearings secured to the lower portions of the said stakes, a door operating shaft mounted in said bearings extending longitudinally of the said car, and means actuated by said shaft for opening and closing the car doors.

3. In a car of the class described, a plurality of cross bearers, each comprising a flanged member extending transversely of the car underframing and having an upwardly inclined end portion secured to the car side, a plurality of stakes attached to the car side and extending below the outer end of said cross bearers, and a brace extending from the lower end of each of said stakes to the intermediate portion of the correspond ing cross bearer.

4. In a railway car of the class described, a center sill, plate girder sides, a plurality of doors hinged to the center sill, the lower portion of said plate girder side being downwardly inclined and having a marginal edge portion adapted to contact with and form a closure for the ends of said doors, a plurality of side stakes secured to the outer side of the plate girder and extending ,below the ends of the said cross bearers, a

plurality of journal bearings mounted on the lower portions of said stakes, a door operating shaft mounted in said bearings and means actuated by said shaft for opening and closing the doors.

5. In a railway car of the class described, the combination with the center sills, the side plate irders and drop doors hinged to the sills t ereof, of a plurality of cross bearers extending from said sills to and attached to the plate girder sides, the outer ends of the said cross bearers being upwardly inclined, the lower portion of said plate girder being correspondingly inclined and secured to the inclined ends of the said cross bearers, each of said cross bearers being provided with a floor strip extending lengthwise thereon and projecting over the edges of the same, stakes secured to and projecting below the car sides, a plurality of journal bearings secured to the lower ends of the said stakes, a door operating shaft mounted in said bearings, and means actu-" ated by said shaft adapted to operate, open, close and lock said doors.

In testimony whereof I hereto aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

RALPH V. SAGE. Witnesses:

ELMER SEAVEY, R. A. BELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

